Santosh Iyer, Vice-President, Marketing & CRM, Mercedes-Benz India, tells us how the iconic brand continues to maintain its halo despite stiff competition in the luxury car segment, and how it successfully conveys the brand message to its traditional and aspirational audience, with media spends primarily focused on Print
By Saloni Dutta
Q] Mercedes has announced 2014 as the Year of Excellence. What are the insights and marketing activities around this?
Our brand claim of ‘Best or Nothing’ stands for excellence… 2013 was the ‘Year of Offensive’ when we had eight product launches. This year, we are striving for excellence in all the key areas - brand experience, our networks, dealers, products and also at our manufacturing facilities, which form the four pillars for our Year of Excellence. We launched the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which symbolizes excellence, at the beginning of the year.
Q] The company reported over 27% increase in sales in the first quarter at 2,554 units. What propelled this increase?
At the start of the year, we committed ourselves to a double digit growth and are confident of achieving it despite a depressed and challenging market. The first quarter results clearly show that we are the fastest growing luxury brand and with our strategy in place, we are confident of maintaining a double digit growth. What helped was a clear plan in terms of product introductions. Besides the S-Class, we also launched the C-Class Grand Edition and the Auto Expo also provided us a very big brand platform.We had many Customer Relation Management (CRM) initiatives such as the Mercedes Trophy golf tournament.
Q] What forms the core of marketing at Mercedes? What are the changes in the marketing spends for 2014?
The basic principle of our marketing is, keep the customer at the centre of whatever you do. In India, our strategy is top of pyramid - where we only launch the top end models in our product segment and the not strip down models or cheap cars, or even entry level models. For example, the GL 63 AMG SUV is priced at Rs 1.66 crore ex-showroom Mumbai. We are priced higher than competition but that doesn’t affect us. We have a differentiated approach of giving more to customers at this pricepoint rather than reducing prices.
Our media spends are predominantly focused on Print. We have also experimented with Television but the role of Digital is increasing significantly and we focus a lot on content and videos.
Q] What does the #powerwhelming initiative mean for brand Mercedes?
Twitter is today the key news medium and we try to use our Twitter handle effectively. While 360 degree campaigns used to start with traditional mediums like Print earlier, today you can’t ignore digital communication platforms. So the idea of #powerwhelming was to introduce our vehicle, the GL 63 AMG SUV, to the media via Twitter and then unveil our mass media campaign in Print. The insight was that India is a large SUV market and our ‘powerwhelming’ SUV, GL, is large and luxurious while the AMG takes it to the next level.
Q] Do your marketing efforts come under the same umbrella for all cars?
No, it varies and depends on our target group. For example, for the Next Green Car (NGC), we have a different marketing strategy when compared to the Mercedes S-Class and our marketing mix for our new generation cars is different from the marketing approach we adopt for the top-end cars. For new buyers looking at A-Class and B-Class, digital and experiential play a big role. We also conduct StarDrive every year to educate new customers about what goes behind making a Mercedes. S-Class buyers are traditional customers who form our loyal base and for them, we focus on one-on-one interactions, CRM and loyalty programmes.
Customers are invited to our centre of excellence in Pune where they come in their choppers and can customize their cars. Besides a tour of our manufacturing facility, they can also get a SUV track experience at the plant. They are also offered access to the AMG Driving Academy at Buddh International Circuit at special rates and to be a part of the AMG driving experience. Incidentally, this is sold out for the year.
Q] What are some of the CRM activities undertaken by the brand?
Mercedes-Benz India has a gamut of CRM initiatives; the Mercedes-Benz Performance Drive, wherein customers can participate in International Driving Events, hone their off-roading skills at the off-roading track inside our plant in Pune, join the AMG Driving Academy at Buddh International Circuit for driving experience on a F1 race track. We also have the Star Track Experience for customers who are CEOs or at the senior leadership level, to race against each other on our own F1 circuit, at BIC, and the StarDrive Experience which showcases the safety and technological prowess of a Mercedes-Benz. In 2014, StarDrive Experience will be organized in five Indian cities and we expect 4000+ participants. Customers can also customize their AMG/Mercedes-Benz cars using the iConfigurator: selecting the upholstery, have a look and feel of exterior paint, selecting alloy wheels, choose leather, stitch colour and even pedals. They are given a guided plant tour and can test the SUV range at our off-road track. It also has a display of the latest range of our specialty cars.
Q] How does Mercedes engage customers on the digital platform?
We engage through social media, where we look to score high on engagement and not get the maximum number of fans. Besides local search and optimization, we also conduct programmes such as the MD Connect, once every quarter, where our MD interacts directly with our consumers and fans. Digital is also an integral part of our CRM where we gather customer inputs and also talk back to them.
Q] How has the customer profile evolved over the last decade for Mercedes?
Earlier, it was the traditional rich with old money who would buy these cars. However, in the last decade, there has been an increase in people with new money. Financing schemes like Daimler Financial Services too have made it possible for many to afford these cars through EMIs. We see a lot of younger customers coming in to buy our cars and also see a big uptick in customers in Tier II and Tier III markets.
Q] What is the success mantra for launching different brands of Mercedes?
The starting point is to position the car right and then make sure that you reach your target customers in such a diverse market. Done right, you are home. Regular campaigns are led by dealers, as they are in
close contact with our customers, but for a launch, we get directly involved right from the positioning of the car and the entire 360-degree communication.
Q] What differentiates brand Mercedes from other players in the luxury automobile segment?
Our USP is ‘The Best or Nothing’. We took a decision not to mass-produce cars, but to make cars better. ‘The Best or Nothing’ is not a tagline; it’s what we have been following for the last 128 years. We give the best to customers who demand the best. Competition is good for the market and for customers and we welcome and enjoy it. We face the same competition globally, and it’s not new to India.
Q] Which markets contribute majorly to your growth?
North is predominantly the biggest market, followed by West and South. We are targeting smaller cities with our StarDrive initiative; only in Tier II markets like Jaipur and Bhubaneswar this year.
Q] What are the opportunities that you see for Brand Mercedes in India in 2014?
The aspiration and dream to own a Three-Pointed Star is our biggest asset. This helps us fulfill desires by delivering better products like the A-Class and B-Class. We want to keep the star shining with new launches and hence all our activities are planned accordingly. We will continue to grow profitably and expand based on our four pillars - brand experiences, new products, manufacturing and new dealership networks.
Q] Can you cite an interesting, memorable experience while marketing Brand Mercedes in India?
Mercedes Benz ML Class and GL Class have a minimum waiting period of three to four months. A customer called me saying he wanted this car urgently as his dad was getting discharged from the hospital after being treated for a serious ailment. He said that his father had always dreamt of owning a Mercedes and he wanted to fulfill this dream by taking his father back home, in a Mercedes. We went all out to ensure that he got the car on time. This shows the emotional attachment people have with the Three-Pointed Star.
CMO FILE
Santosh Iyer, Vice-President, Marketing & CRM, Mercedes-Benz India, takes care of the entire marketing communications and CRM initiatives of the ‘Three-Pointed Star’. He has a strong and proven record of ideating, developing and implementing innovative brand positioning strategies across multiple product categories that resulted in long term brand equity maximization. Prior to joining Mercedes-Benz India, he had stints at Ford Motor Company and Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
MARKETING TIP
Keep customers at the centre of all your strategies and you are home
ABOUT THE BRAND
Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd., was set up in 1994, and pioneered the luxury car market in India. The parent company boasts of more than 128 years of cutting edge innovation in the luxury automobile industry globally. Mercedes-Benz India’s product portfolio comprises the locally produced S-Class, E-Class, C-Class, GLClass and the M-Class. Completely Built Imported cars include the A-Class, CLSClass, SLK-Class and the luxury tourer B-Class, etc. The product portfolio also comprises the iconic off-roader G 63 AMG as well as a wide range of other AMG performance cars like the C 63 AMG, E 63 AMG, SLK 55 AMG etc. With a total of 64 outlets located in 35 Indian cities, the brand has the most dense network in the luxury segment.
FACTS
CREATIVE AGENCY: RK SWAMY BBDO
MEDIA AGENCY: MEDIA EDGE
SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA MARKETING AGENCY: CREATIVE LAND ASIA
BTL/ACTIVATION AGENCY: (70 EMG/PERCEPT/ENCOMPASS/SHOWBIZ/TIC)
PR AGENCY: PERFECT RELATIONS
Feedback: saloni.dutta@exchange4media.com
